Religious Freedom Upheld in Finland—Again

In Finland, a prominent politician and a Lutheran bishop have been acquitted of hate crimes for the second time in as many years. On November 14, 2023, the Helsinki Court of Appeals issued its unanimous decision that Finnish Member of Parliament Dr. Päivi Räsänen and a Lutheran bishop, the Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola, be acquitted of all charges, upholding a 2022 decision by the District Court of Helsinki. For the past four years, Bishop Pohjola and Dr. Räsänen have endured legal persecution for their articulation of historic Christian teaching on human sexuality. Dr. Räsänen is a prominent Finnish politician, having served as chair of the Christian Democrats party from 2004 to 2015 and as Finland’s Minister of the Interior from 2011 to 2015. Bishop Pohjola leads the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, a confessional Lutheran church body separate from the state church